Saturday, July 21, 2012

Coke Studio: Madari English Meaning and Lyrics

Thanks to Sanat Rath, I had the absolute privilege of listening to this superb rendering of Madari by Vishal Dadlani and Sonu Kakkar and an absolutely stunning composition by Clinton Cerejo as part of Coke Studio. Here's the official video. The lyrics of the song are interspersed with the meanings translated to English. Credits for the superb lyrics go to Manoj Yadav. Hope you enjoy it.

You are the one who holds the medicine/herbs of smiling (keys to happiness).
You spray a fountain of "ashuwan" (youth?)
You're the one who takes care of the seas.
You're the one who gives flow to the rivers.

The people who do the Haj go towards Mecca. (x2)
But I'm going towards the throne/shrine of Hazare~ instead.
In whichever direction is your beloved, that's the direction of the Kaaba# (of prayer).
We have read and scrutinized the books rigorously for this.

(Context: This stanza references the eternal love story of Heer and Ranjha where Ranjha was from Takht Hazare and Heer was from Punjab.)

Bricks clang, the dukkhad plays,
The stove is heating up. (2 lines repeat)
Ascetics may come, have food, be merry, and go.
Bulle Shah (a famous sufi poet & ascetic) - do you find all this agreeable?/are you in agreement?

(Context: In the olden days, wood fired stoves made of brick were used for cooking. They were kindled by blowpipes called 'dukkhads' and housewives would do charity by cooking for ascetics.)

* The master is in reference to the Indian tradition of "Madaris" who make monkeys dance to their commands and they perform shows and street plays. The "Jamoora" is an oblique reference to the monkey who obeys the master's commands ("obedient assistant") though the term is usually applied to a human assistant who follows his master's orders without question.

~ The shrine of Hazare is a place of religious importance for Sikhs.

# The Kaaba at Mecca is the point towards which all Muslims turn to while praying.

This song is a Sufi composition that speaks of a tale at two levels - at the literal level, you can see this as the statement of an assistant whose mind is fired up by the teachings and commands of his master and whose teachings when followed feel like you're being conferred immortality; a deeper interpretation is that this song is a communion with God and the singer is merely a puppet following the wishes of his master, the Lord, and he has tried an accepted the teachings of God and is willing to follow in his footsteps because he controls the keys to happiness and runs the circus of life.

Thanks a lot to @jamshidmehmood on Youtube for helping clarify the Punjabi sections of the song.